A Hole in One

I started playing golf when I attended Texas A&M University. I needed to take a required physical education course so I chose golf...and I was hooked. But before then I had "played" golf only a couple of times. On one of those occassions playing with my brother Tommy and friend Gary I recorded my first hole-in-one. Hole-in-one's are so rare that it seems the event is burned into your memory. At least that's the case with my first one back on a Monday morning in 1974. We were on the 6th hole in Bellville, a short par 3 of about 150 yards. I chose to hit a 7 iron, borrowed from my brothers bag of Louisville Slugger irons he received as a signing bonus with the Cincinnati Reds. As I practiced rehearsing the shot I remember taking a lot of turf with my practice swings. Being a novice I thought that was what I was supposed to do. Anyway, unbeknownst to me, the course superintendant was standing about 20 yards behind me watching me destroy the teebox and he started walking in my direction, no doubt to confront the turf-basher. While walking toward me I took a mighty swing at the ball with my borrowed 7-iron. As is usual with beginners my ball took off low and to the left edge of the green but was cutting back to the middle...and the flag. Well, as the ball left the face of the iron, old John, the course superintendant, started in on me how he had 150 golfers yesterday in a tournament and all together they did not do as much damage as I had just done. I looked at John and then turned around just in time to watch my ball hit in front of the green and then by some divine intervention take a couple of hops and roll into the cup. A hole in one. Needless to say that ended the tongue-lashing from old John. To this day I still play in Bellville and old John is even older now, at 92, and still playing golf. I remind him of my first hole-in-one only occassionally. He remembers it vaguely so I try to keep the memory fresh for him.

This brings me to the present day, Sunday May 31st at Blackhorse Golf Course, South Course, a 1:28 tee time with Bobby Kramer, Zeb Hughey, and David Frost. David was visiting from South Africa and as a member of the World Travel & Tourism Council and an advisor to Golf Digest South Africa, he gets to play a lot of great golf courses. Bobby is a good friend of mine. Zeb is Bobby's friend and now a friend of mine.

I was playing pretty good golf through the first five holes, being even par for the round. At the 6th hole; an uphill, upwind par 3 of 135 yards, I was trying to decide between a hard 9 or a cut 8 iron. The green slopes from back to front pretty much so any shot to the back of the green was going to result in a fast downhill putt. However a shot short of the green would result in a fairly straightforward uphill chip. I decided on the hard 9. To help the shot fly a bit farther I played the ball back in my stance a hair and decided to hit a low draw. I hit the shot just as I intended. It started about 2 yards to the right of the hole and hit the green about a yard past the flag and spun back toward the hole...then dissappeared.

At first I just stood there in disbelief. What had happened? And then David I believe said "It's in the hole! A hole in one!" I high-fived everyone but still a bit numb I couldn't find any words to capture the moment. It was a good looking shot. But I've hit a lot of good looking shots that don't find the hole. Why this one? Who knows. But God smiled on me that day and said "Ok, today is your day, enjoy it, and share it."

And so I am.